


Little Shadow

by ActuallyRandomPerson



Series: things that spawn from the drabbles [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Developing Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Wing Grooming, btw i use british/aussie english, moulting castiel, non-sexual wing grooming, so moult is Not A Typo i feel like i need to specify this, this is just me being soft tbh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:47:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28606197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ActuallyRandomPerson/pseuds/ActuallyRandomPerson
Summary: “Of course I’d be happy to help out, Cas! It can’t be a fun process to go through, especially not alone. Is there a reason this is the first time you’re asking for a hand? I can’t imagine this is the first moult you’ve gone through since being down on earth.”“It can be an… intimate process.”Deans eyebrows rose almost unwittingly, and he flushed lightly before speaking.“Do you- d’you mean like-”Rather than finishing the sentence, Dean made a crude gesture with his hands, but his shoulders softened when Cas shook his head, an amused look on his face.aka not all wing grooming has to include s e x y'all (like keep doing what ur doing but also give me non-sexual intimacy or give me death)
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Series: things that spawn from the drabbles [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2117403
Comments: 16
Kudos: 50





	Little Shadow

**Author's Note:**

> me lookin at wing grooming fics: it’s about the c o n n e c t i o n, the c o m f o r t, the casual intimacy 🥺  
> everyone else: oh hell yeah porn time  
> in other words I fuckin love wing grooming fics but I’m ace and I’m tired of pretty much every single one I read almost immediately devolving into sex dfskljvhkefd. sometimes destiel should be allowed to just cuddle, alright. if we let aziraphale and crowley do it we can let dean and cas do it  
> the start of this was posted to my [ 'a drabble a day' drabble collection](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28474809) but it ended up being very much not a drabble hence me posting the rest of this here sdlafjkfh  
> name is from [ this song by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs](https://open.spotify.com/track/5zej8rkeH4vSDw5mKSeDeT) because its got a soft vibe kinda, i had no clue what to call this, and also angel wings are canonically shown in shadows I'm pretty sure? (for people here from places other than my drabble collection I'm only a season and a half into the show asdlzfkjzsh)

Dean wasn’t quite sure what he expected to find in Cas’ room after the angel asked him to swing by, but it certainly wasn’t this.

The angel was sat awkwardly on the bed, normally hidden wings splayed out behind him, with a pile of dark feathers scattered across the ground. He had his back to the door, and despite being contorted in such a way that the top half of his body was almost facing Dean, it was clear that he had no idea that the hunter had arrived. Instead, all his attention was focused on doing _something_ to his wings.

“Uh, Cas? You okay?”

Castiel startled, feathers puffing out as his head snapped up to meet Dean’s gaze, and Dean held back a laugh at the juxtaposition of Cas’ placid expression with the defensive stance his wings now took.

“Woah, it’s alright, feathers! It’s just me! You asked me to come by, remember?”

Cas’ wings softened, and a small smile graced his lips, although he stayed twisted in place as Dean walked quietly into the room.

“I am… somewhat unused to having my wings visible on this plane.” He admitted as Dean approached. “Having them out, especially _now_ , feels… vulnerable.”

“Especially now?”

Cas nodded.

“I am in moult.”

“That would explain the feathers everywhere- much better than you getting into an intensive pillow fight with yourself would, anyway.”

Rather than responding, Cas cocked his head curiously as Dean sat down beside him.

“ _Pillow_ … fight?”

“It’s exactly what it sounds like, unsurprisingly. You basically just pummel your opposition with a pillow. People have them with siblings and friends growing up.”

“That sounds… interesting.”

Dean grinned and nudged the angel with his shoulder.

“I’d offer to demonstrate but I figure there’s an actual reason you wanted me to come here?”

Cas nodded again, nerves suddenly radiating from his posture.

“As I said earlier, I have entered moult. It can be a… somewhat difficult process for angels, as in human vessels we are not afforded the flexibility required to reach all of our feathers with ease. Things are made simpler when you have a partner who can help you groom them.”

“And you’re saying you want _me_ to be that partner?”

“If… if you’re comfortable with that.”

“Of course I’d be happy to help out, Cas! It can’t be a fun process to go through, especially not alone. Is there a reason this is the first time you’re asking for a hand? I can’t imagine this is the first moult you’ve gone through since being down on earth.”

Cas’ wings made an aborted motion that Dean suspected was originally intended to wrap them around himself, before he realised that would mean hitting Dean with a face-full of feathers.

“It can be an… _intimate_ process.”

Deans eyebrows rose almost unwittingly, and he flushed slightly before speaking.

“Do you- d’you mean like-”

Rather than finishing the sentence, Dean made a crude gesture with his hands, but his shoulders softened when Cas shook his head, an amused look on his face.

Although the two had, in Sam’s words, ‘finally manned the fuck up and finally admitted that literal years’ worth of romantic and sexual tension existed between them’ about a month prior, they’d decided to take their relationship slowly. For one, it was the first relationship Cas had ever been in despite having literally existed for millennia, for another Dean hadn’t wanted to fuck everything up by sleeping with Cas straight away then panicking about how rapidly their relationship had changed or about being openly in a relationship with a man-shaped being. He wouldn’t, _couldn’t_ do that to Cas. So slowly it had been.

“No, it’s not _that_ type of intimate. It’s more akin to, well, cuddling I guess? Or playing with someone’s hair.”

Dean nodded as Cas spoke, before smiling cheekily.

“So you haven’t asked for help in the past because you didn’t want me to freak the fuck out and leave when I saw how soft and clingy you got as a result. That’s fair.”

They’d been together for less than a week the first time Dean discovered how much the angel liked having his hair stroked. Dean had pulled up a random movie for them to watch while curled up together on the couch, taking advantage of Sam’s decision to turn in early in order to cuddle without having to endure any ribbing for that fact. Dean hadn’t even realised he was _doing it_ at first, and probably wouldn’t have noticed if Cas hadn’t turned into a literal puddle in his arms as a result.

Neither of them had actually acknowledged this verbally (until now), but Dean wasn’t exactly subtle about the fact that since then, his fingers had migrated to Cas’ hair at every available moment.

A flush rose in Castiel’s cheeks and Dean leaned into kiss the closest one lightly before settling back into his original position on the bed.

“So, where do I start?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just want someone to hold me close and run their hands through my hair is that too much to ask  
> also i realised i kept spelling it "moult" when i went in intending to spell it "molt" but I'm aussie so i default to British English sdlfkfldkag


End file.
